UTILITIES MOVE INTO SUN

Utilities are investing in new power plants. Why is that news? Because they are SOLAR power plants.

Despite the failure of the U.S. Congress to extend the solar energy industry investment tax credits (ITCs) that will expire at the end of this year, big investors are courageously building for a future under a new administration and a new Congress. Insiders are optimistic that incoming national leaders will be aware of and respond to the American people’s overwhelming demand for New Energy with the extension of tax credits, a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) and climate change legislation setting the country on course for a greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions cap-and-trade system.

Those taking the risk and building are buoyed by state RESs, now in 26 states, that require utilities to obtain a specific portion of their power from New Energy sources. Big utility investments are a significant part of the capital moving into solar power plants. Utilities see value in owning GhG-free power plants and are aware of the responsibility the state RESs and a likely national RES place on them.

As Silicon Valley tech maven Sramana Mitra points out in the current issue of Forbes, it takes a combination of aggressive innovation, entrepreneurship and supportive public policy to foster change. Some far-seeing U.S. utilities are already showing the 1st 2 and are getting some of what they need in the way of the 3rd. It is only a matter of time until a newer, wiser set of national leaders steps up and puts the last pieces of the program in place.

A New Energy revolution is likely to follow. Utilities will be ready to make solar power plants a part of that revolution. A new study from Silicon Valley research maven Clean Edge finds the solar energy industry ready to grow to 10% of U.S. electricity generation by 2025. Expect solar power plants to play a big role.

Scientific American identified a few small areas of the U.S. Southwest that could power the nation. (click to enlarge)

How To Heat Up Solar
Sramana Mitra, June 13, 2008 (Forbes)

WHO
Sramana Mitra, technology entrepreneur/strategy consultant, Silicon Valley; SunPower (Tom Werner, chief executive)

WHAT
Solar power plants, long an experimental California concept, are being built all over the U.S. and big utilities are partnering in the financing of them or signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for their output to facilitate the building of them.

North African nations could power all of Europe. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- SunPower’s Werner, a solar industry pioneer, expects solar power plants to be 10% to 20% of all new power plants in the U.S. by 2015.
- California’s RES requires its utilities to obtain 20% of their power from New Energy sources by 2010.

WHERE
- The 4 key solar energy sectors: new residential homes, retrofit residential homes, retrofit commercial, utilities.
- Spain, Germany and Japan are the world leaders in solar energy development. Other Mediterranean countries have better sun but lag due to less aggressive government policies.
- 26 U.S. states have passed RESs and others, notably Michigan, have laws pending. The southwestern states, with among the strongest RESs and most favorable policies for solar, are leading the way in solar power plant development.

WHY
- 4,500 megawatts of solar power plant projects are presently in some stage of planning or construction.
- China and India lag behind the world in solar energy development. India has 200 days/year of clear sun and could produce 5,000 trillion kilowatt-hours of solar energy yearly. China’s capacity is comparable, as is its need.
- A 100- to 300-megawatt solar power plant costs $750 million to $1.5 billion. In a carbon-constrained world, the U.S., China and India need hundreds of thousands of such plants, though the need for distributed energy in the off-grid rural villages of China and India is just as great if not greater.
- Recent polls show that show that “the vast majority of Americans” say building solar is key to U.S. “health and wealth.”

eSolar is making modular solar power tower sytems for the world. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Werner, CEO, SunPower: "With its abundant sunlight and environmentally aware population, Spain is today one of our largest geographies…"
- Sramana Mitra, tech maven, on the inevtiable cost-competitiveness of solar power plants: “We've seen this for over 30 years in cycle after cycle, whether it is in integrated circuits or disk drives, LCDs or flat panels. Moore's Law, it is called. We will see it again in solar…”